Music, History & Artifactsof the Ragtime Era

Welcome! I am a pianist, scholar, showman and producer. I love the arts and entertainment of the early 20th century. I have been an advocate of this era since the 1970s. This website will continually develop as I add materials from my archive collected for 40 years. Currently, little of that has been added to date, so please check in from time to time. The above photo was taken in Kansas City, Missouri at the home of composer E. Harry Kelly. I appeared with the Etcetera String Band in a home concert in Kelly's living room. It was part of a historic home tour in the 1990s. Kelly wrote the first 20th century rag hit, Peaceful Henry, in 1901. It was released on at least 14 recordings at the time. Visiting historic sites and meeting musicians' families are some of my interests. A number of Kelly's relatives visited that afternoon. It was an exciting event and I always Iook forward to participating in others.